Father of newborn pleads to Bethlehem home invasion

For an armed home invasion in Bethlehem, the father of a newborn child will be sent away for as long as six years.

Anthony Rivera-Figueroa, 24, pleaded guilty Monday to two felony charges of robbery, saying he used a butcher knife to steal marijuana, money and electronics from a South Side home last summer.

The victims were Jose Martinez and Anthony Lanzot-Garcia, according to court records.

On Aug. 13, the home at 1140 Amplex St. was robbed by men who knocked on the door, forced their way in and stole more than $2,300 worth of goods, police said. But the crime wasn't reported to authorities until 12 hours later, and Rivera-Figueroa indicated that marijuana was also part of the heist, said Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Patricia Mulqueen.

Rivera-Figueroa received his three- to six-year sentence under a plea bargain before Judge Paula Roscioli. Defense attorney Joseph Yannuzzi said his client had one request before being shipped off: that he be given a chance to see his child, who was born premature and is hospitalized.

But Roscioli denied that, saying it would be inappropriate for a newborn with health problems to be taken to Northampton County Prison, where the child could pick up an illness.

"Last thing you want is for your baby to be brought to our prison and to end with MRSA [a flesh-eating bacteria] or something else because they've been exposed," Roscioli said.

The hearing came on the same day that Rivera-Figueroa's co-defendant also pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery. Jeffrey Marte-Carmona, 20, of Bethlehem received 28 months to 10 years in state prison from President Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden.

Before Roscioli, Figueroa-Rivera also admitted to a separate case in Bethlehem in which he used the credit card of his girlfriend's grandmother to steal $540 in May. He received a concurrent sentence on a charge of access device fraud, meaning no additional jail time.

Figueroa-Rivera told Roscioli that he plans to serve his sentence, stay out of trouble and take care of his family.

"I'm going to prove everybody wrong," he said.

"Nothing will make me happier," Roscioli said, "than to have you not come back before me."